Harris outlines challenge Millwall face at Bolton

NEIL Harris said he will look back at Millwall’s 2-0 defeat to Bolton at The Den last month and hopes that this time his side can “hurt the opposition”.

That loss is the only one of their last eight fixtures Millwall have failed to win, and they go into the fixture at The Macron Stadium on a five-game winning streak.

But they will be facing a Bolton side with the best defence in the division, having conceded 15 fewer goals than Millwall so far this season.

Harris will also be without Steve Morison, the Lions’ top scorer with nine goals, while Bolton goalkeeper Mark Howard, who kept that clean sheet at The Den, is out for three months with a broken finger.

Harry Smith could continue up front with Lee Gregory after scoring three goals in his first two games for the club.

Only two League One teams have scored more goals than the Lions, but Harris recognises the challenge his players face on Saturday afternoon against Phil Parkinson’s fourth-place Trotters.

He said: “They’ve got really good shape and they’re a very experienced side with a couple of young and hungry attacking players.

“The rest are experienced and the majority of the team have spent their whole careers playing at a higher level.

“It’s certainly a tough challenge for us this weekend. Phil Parkinson is renowned for having well-drilled defensive units and he’s got another one at Bolton.

“We’ll take a look back at the game at The Den where we dominated large parts of the game without creating a huge number of clear-cut chances. We need to put in that level of performance again and try to hurt the opposition.

“We’re also mindful of the fact that Bolton have the ability at any stage of the game to score a goal out of nothing. We have to be very organised defensively, one v one as well as units. And then try to be an attacking force that we have been in recent weeks going forward.”